Saint Vitus

Vitus was only twelve years old when Valer ian came Valérien Roman emperor under whom the martyrdom took place. to Sicily on behalf of the Emperor Diocletian, less as a prefect and governor than as a persecutor of Christians and an executioner. Among those denounced to him was Vitus, who, small as he was, was nonetheless considered by the idolaters to be the strongest and most dangerous of their enemies. Valerian sent for Hylas, his father, and told him that, having learned his son was of the sect of the Christians, he had the right to have him arrested and punished according to imperial laws; but that, out of consideration for him, he was willing to stay this prosecution in the hope that his father would bring him back to his duty. Hylas was therefore to use all his paternal authority, and even something more, to make him abandon the worship of Jesus Christ and bring him to the worship of the gods, which was the religion of the empire. Hylas promised to do so; and, indeed, having returned home, he used all sorts of means to win over, or rather to seduce, this blessed child. He embraced him, bathed his cheeks with his tears, and pointed out to him that if he did not yield to the wishes of the emperor, he would lose in an instant not only all the great wealth he had acquired for him and of which he was the sole heir, but also his honor and his life; that he would defame his family and

leave his father in an bitterness and sorrow that would soon lead him to the grave. Finally, he tried to inspire in him contempt for a religion in which one worshipped a crucified man, a man who died ignominiously on a gibbet; but all these artifices made no impression on the invincible heart of Vitus. On the contrary, as he was very well instructed in the holiness of our mysteries and the extravagance of the worship of the gods, he spoke of them divinely to his father and gave him powerful reasons to oblige him to follow his example, protesting to him, moreover, that neither promises, nor threats, nor loss of goods, nor torments, however cruel they might be, nor death itself, could ever separate him from the charity of Jesus Christ.

Valerian was warned of Hylas's lack of success with Vitus; learning, moreover, that this child continued to perform wonders that spread Christianity, he had him arrested and ordered him to be brought before his tribunal. He asked him why, being still only a child, he resisted the wishes of his father and did not submit to the laws of the emperors, and if he did not know well that he, Valerian, had orders to punish such obstinate people severely and even to put them to death. The child replied "that he did not disobey the emperors and his father except to obey God, who was his sovereign lord and his first father; as for the punishments, he would endure them very willingly so as not to worship demons, who are the sworn enemies of men." Hylas, who was present, cried out in pain and said "that he was very unfortunate to have a son foolish enough to destroy himself by his obstinacy." But Vitus replied that "far from destroying himself, he was working for his salvation by remaining faithful to the one who, having given him life, would also give him immortal glory." The prefect, losing patience, ordered him to be beaten with sticks; which was carried out, but without the martyr losing any of his courage and resolution. The prefect added: "Let him be stripped and whipped as he deserves!" The executioners prepared to obey; but their arms lost their strength and became withered; the same happened to the hand of Valerian, which he had extended to pronounce this sentence. Then this judge cried out that "this child was a magician and that he knew how to use sorcery"; but the Saint replied "that he was not a magician, and that he had never learned any other sorcery than to praise and bless Jesus Christ, who is the all-powerful master of all creatures." He then healed his own persecutors, to show that the spirit of Jesus Christ is a spirit of simplicity and gentleness, and that his true disciples have only love for all their enemies.

Valerian, moved by this miracle, returned Vitus to his father, with orders to spare nothing to make him change his mind. The father, imagining that the best way was to plunge him into delights, tried to soften his heart with a thousand caresses; he fed him more delicately than usual; he surrounded him with feasts, dances, and entrusted him to young maidservants charged with corrupting him. But the holy child, in the midst of all these traps, did nothing but groan and sigh; and, having his eyes perpetually bathed in tears and his heart raised toward heaven, he said to God: "Lord, do not despise or abandon a contrite and humbled heart." A magnificent room was also prepared for him, the furnishings of which were enhanced with gold embroidery and precious stones, and he was forced to stay there; but no sooner had he finished his prayer than a celestial light and a delicious perfume filled it, and twelve stones of a wonderful color and brilliance appeared there. The servants were witnesses to this prodigy, and they cried out in admiration that, even in their own temples, nothing like it had ever been seen. Hylas ran to see what was happening in his son's room, and he saw twelve angels of unspeakable splendor and beauty; but no sooner had he seen them than he found himself blind and felt an unbearable pain in his eyes. He immediately went to seek a remedy in the temple of Jupiter; but it was without any result; he had to humble himself before his son, and beg him to restore his sight, which his curiosity and disbelief had taken from him. Vitus knew well that such a great benefit would not convert him; nevertheless, to show the infinite power of Jesus Christ and to win some of those present to the faith, he placed his hand on his eyes, and, having made this prayer: "Lord, who gave sight to a man who was blind from birth, give it also to my father, so that your enemies may be confounded, and that those who confess your name may be filled with joy," he healed him perfectly, soothing all his pains and restoring his faculty of sight.

This miracle did not prevent this unnatural father, who feared losing his fortune by irritating the spirit of the prefect, from tormenting his son and forming the design to have him put to death. But an angel appeared to Modestus, the tutor of Vitus, and ordered him, on behalf of God, to take him with him and lead him into Italy; they therefore set out by sea, accompanied by Crescentia, and arrived, under the guidance of this blessed spirit, in the kingdom of Naples, on fleuve Silaro Stream near which the saints were beheaded. the banks of the Silaro River. An eagle fed them there for some time, during which they occupied themselves with praising God and thanking Him for the abundance of His graces; but as Vitus performed great miracles, and those possessed proclaimed his arrival everywhere, he was soon recognized, and people hastened to come to see him and to bring him the sick to be healed.

It happened at that time that the son of Diocletian, that great persecutor of Christians, was possessed by a demon that tormented him cruelly. This prince employed all sorts of superstitions for his deliverance; but the demon always replied insolently that he would not leave until Vitus, who was in Lucania, came to cast him out. The emperor therefore had Vitus sought everywhere; he was finally found, brought to R ome Rome Birthplace of Maximian. with Modestus and Crescentia, and made to enter the palace. Diocletian asked him if he could heal the young prince. He replied: "That he could not, but that Jesus Christ, who is an all-powerful God, could do so through him." Diocletian begged him to use all the influence he had with this God. Vitus approached the possessed one, and, placing his hands on his head, he spoke to the demon, in the name of Jesus Christ, with such great strength and authority that he compelled him to leave: this was done with a horrible noise, and many idolaters, who had insulted the holy Martyrs, were struck dead.

Diocletian, far from recognizing the power of Jesus Christ who had just delivered his son, spared nothing to corrupt the young Vitus and detach him from Christianity. He offered him for this his favor and friendship, a lodging in his palace, a place at his table, a large part of his treasures, and even a portion of his empire. But the admirable Servant of God replied generously: "that what he offered him was nothing in comparison to what he wished to take from him; that Jesus Christ was an incomparable treasure that he would not leave for all the empires of the world; that, possessing Him alone, he possessed all things, and that thus he did not have to deliberate on his proposals." The emperor told him that he spoke like a child; but that, if he despised his favors, he would make him suffer torments so

terrible and so unheard of, that he would finally succumb to them. "I speak as a servant of the true God," replied Vitus; "but know that torments do not frighten me at all, and that I await them on the contrary with impatience, to endure something for my Master." Upon this answer, this ungrateful and faithless emperor commanded that Vitus, with the two persons who accompanied him, be thrown into a dungeon and each loaded with a chain weighing eighty pounds, without anyone being permitted to visit them or give them any relief. This order was executed; but the holy Martyrs, who were stripped of the help of men, were visited by angels and by Jesus Christ Himself, who filled their prison with a light and a scent that were entirely heavenly; then He encouraged Saint Vitus by saying to him: "Courage, Vitus, my son, persevere constantly in faithfulness to my service; I will be with you until the end of your combats."

Diocletian, having learned that the dungeon had become a place of delight for the Martyrs, had them taken out and then had Saint Vitus thrown into a blazing furnace where he had placed pitch-resin and molten lead. But the Saint, having made the sign of the cross and invoked Him who preserved the three children in the midst of the furnace of Babylon, remained there without any harm and came out without the violence of the fire having singed a single hair of his head; it seemed, on the contrary, that he had acquired a new beauty in that furnace; he said to Diocletian: "Is it possible, wretch, that you do not recognize your blindness, and that so many wonders do not convince you of the sovereign and infinite power of the God of the Christians?" But this Pharaoh, more hardened than ever, had the martyr exposed to a terrible lion whose roar alone terrified the whole assembly; the lion, instead of throwing itself upon the Martyr and devouring him, came gently to fawn upon him and lick his feet: which was the cause of the conversion of a great number of idolaters.

The emperor, attributing this new miracle to the magic art, in which he persuaded himself that the Christians were very learned, had Saint Vitus, with Saint Modestus and Saint Crescentia, stretched on the rack, and, by the violence of the tortures, their bones were dislocated, their nerves broken, and their bodies so torn that one could see their entrails. The weather was very fine and the sky serene; but Saint Vitus having made his prayer in the midst of his torments, the air became troubled in an instant, the thunder began to rumble in a dreadful manner, and this noise, joined to an infinity of lightning, filled the whole amphitheater with a horrible fright. The lightning then fell upon the temples of the idols, which crushed many pagans with their ruins. The emperor himself fled, full of confusion and spite at seeing himself defeated by a young child.

Then an angel descended from heaven, detached the Martyrs from the rack, restored them to health, and brought them miraculously from Rome to the bank of the river Silaro, from where Diocletian had had them brought. When they had arrived there, Saint Vitus made his prayer to God and asked Him that, after having rendered them, by His grace, victorious over so many torments, He might deign to withdraw their souls from the dangers of this world, to go and enjoy Him in eternity. His prayer was answered, and a voice from heaven informed the holy Martyrs that the time of their reward had come. They rendered their thanks to God for it; and when the same Saint Vitus had begged those who were present to bury them in that place, and had assured them that one would obtain through his intercession and that of his blessed associates, everything that one would ask of God for one's salvation, they sent their souls to heaven laden with merits and glory; which happened on June 15 of the year 303, or thereabouts.

Saint Vitus is represented in a cauldron full of resin, pitch, or molten lead; he is often accompanied by his nurse, Saint Crescentia, and Saint Modestus, his foster father, who shared this torture with him, but only died on the rack. — In Italy, he is found represented here and there holding a dog on a leash, perhaps to express the touching fidelity of his guardians who surrendered themselves to martyrdom to save from apostasy their foster child, whom an idolatrous father surrounded with satanic seductions. — The Germans are accustomed to painting Saint Vitus with a rooster, perhaps because of their custom of invoking this young martyr against overly prolonged sleep and lethargy and to obtain waking up at a precise hour. — Finally, he is found represented with lions and other wild animals at his side to recall that he was exposed to the beasts.

Saint Vitus is the patron of actors and dancers, by allusion, no doubt, to the condition known in medicine as *Saint Vitus's Dance*. — He is invoked against chorea and overly prolonged Danse de saint Gui Medical condition for which the saint is the patron. sleep, perhaps because he suffered martyrdom *early* (de bonne heure), while still a child. — He is also invoked, and we have said why, for dogs and against rabies.

## CULT AND RELICS.

The bodies of our holy Martyrs were buried by the faithful in a place called Mariano. Since then, that of Saint Vitus was transported to Rome, and from there it was brough t to Saint- Saint-Denis Site housing a relic of an Innocent. Denis, in France, by Abbot Falcade, during the reign of Pepin, father of Charlemagne. But, several years later, the faith having been brought to Saxony, and the Order of Saint-Denis having founded a famous monaste ry there, calle Nouvelle-Corbie Monastery in Saxony, final destination of the relics in 836. d New Corbie, Warin, who was its abbot, begged Hilduin, Abbot of Saint-Denis, to give him this precious treasure to enrich his church; which he did, with the consent of the King and Emperor Louis Louis le Débonnaire King of the Franks who made Aldric his advisor and commander of the palace. the Pious. Thus, in the year 836, the relics of Saint Vitus were transported with great solemnity to New Corbie, which is called Corvey, in Saxony, on the Weser, between Westphalia and the Duchy of Brunswick. This translation was carried out with such solemn pomp that nothing of the kind had ever been seen before. It was nothing but a procession of priests, monks, and crowds of people, from Saint-Denis to Corvey, along a path of nearly one hundred and fifty leagues. His relics performed many miracles at Saint-Denis; but the one who wrote the history of this translation says that they performed more than four hundred in the twenty stations of this journey, and that they brought with them abundance and happiness to that land. Saint Wenceslaus, Duke of Bohemia, obtained some ointments for Prague, the capital city of his State.

The three holy martyrs are patrons of Ligoy-sur-Cauche, in the diocese of Arras. Relics of Saint Vitus are kept at Saint-Paul and the Ursulines of Abbeville, and at the Carmel of Amiens.

These acts are taken from an ancient manuscript that Surius has given us. Baronius also speaks of Saint Vitus, Saint Modestus, and Saint Crescentia, both in his Annals and in his Martyrology.